SACRAMENTO -- The
amount of agricultural land in San Diego
County continued to decrease as urban
areas grew, according to a new map
released by the California Department of
Conservation.

Urban land increased
by nearly 9,000 acres between 2000 and
2002; agricultural land declined by more
than 7,000 acres. The rate of change has
slowed somewhat, however. In the 2000
mapping cycle, urban acreage increased
by more than 12,000 and about 8,500
fewer agricultural acres were observed.

The Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program (FMMP), part of
DOC's Division of Land Resource
Protection, documents land-use
conversion on 45.8 million acres of
Californias private and public land
every two years. The maps and statistics
are designed to help local governments
evaluate land-use planning decisions.
The 2002 analysis is nearly complete
statewide, while 2004 mapping is
underway.

This information
helps counties and cities see the
patterns and make informed choices about
how they want to direct growth in the
future, Department of Conservation
Director Darryl Young said. The
population of California will continue
to grow, and its vital that we ensure
theres enough room for people and
agriculture.

The Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program classifies land
as either farmland (prime being the best
of four types of farmland), grazing
land, urban land, other land or water.
The other category includes
low-density "ranchettes," wetlands, and
brush or timberlands unsuitable for
grazing.

In San Diego County,
according to the most recent FMMP
report, 8,807 acres were urbanized
between 2000 and 2002  an area larger
than the City of Coronado. Since the
1990 FMMP survey, the county has gained
nearly 45,000 urban acres. The

net loss of farm and
grazing land, which includes conversions
such as ecological restoration or
low-density rural development, was more
than 34,000 acres between 1990-2002.
Nearly 14,000 of those acres were
considered Unique Farmland (a United
State Department of Agriculture
designation) due to their ability to
grow specialty crops such as citrus and
avocados.

In addition, cities
within San Diego County reported that
nearly 10,400 acres have been committed
to future non-agricultural use due to
the approval of subdivision maps, the
sale of bonds for infrastructure, or
other permanent commitments.

Examples of recent
urbanization in San Diego County include
golf course/housing developments ranging
from 70 to 600 acres in San Luis Rey
Heights, Escondido, Borrego Springs,
upper Otay Lake and Rancho Santa Fe; the
100-acre Encinitas Ranch housing
development; 40 acres of new homes north
of Oceanside; the 15-acre Casino Pauma
complex; 20 acres of new homes on the
eastern edge of Vista; and 30 acres of
new industrial buildings in the Otay
Mesa area.

The agricultural land
in San Diego County will continue to
face development pressure in the
foreseeable future. The California
Department of Finance projects that the
countys population will increase from
more than 2.8 million 2000 to nearly 3.9
million by 2020.

According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of San
Diego Countys agricultural production
was nearly $1.3 billion in 2002, ranking
it eighth among Californias 58
counties.

There are ongoing
efforts to preserve San Diego County
farmland. For example, DOCs California
Farmland Conservancy Program recently
issued a grant that helped the Tierra
Miguel Foundation and the Fallbrook Land
Conservancy permanently shield their
85-acre Pauma Valley farm from
development. Escrow just closed on the
property, an educational demonstration
farm that offers a hands-on opportunity
for youngsters and other interested
parties to learn about sustainable
organic agriculture.

Given the rate of
growth in San Diego County and the
amount of land going out of agricultural
production each year, we saw a permanent
agricultural conservation easement as a
perfect fit for our farm, which serves
an important need in the community,
said Charlene Orszag, president of the
not-for-profit Tierra Miguel Foundation.
Protecting farmland is critical, and I
would encourage other individuals and
groups involved in agriculture in the
county to explore this option.

The California
Farmland Conservancy Program makes funds
available to local governments, land
trusts or resource conservation
districts to purchase permanent
development rights on property from
willing landowners. DOC also oversees
Farmland Security Zone and Williamson
Act contracts, which provide potential
tax benefits to landowners who commit to
keeping their land in agricultural use
for periods of 20 or 10 years,
respectively.

The new land-use
conversion map has been sent to San
Diego County planning officials and
organizations such as the county Farm
Bureau, Local Agency Formation
Commission, city planners, irrigation
districts and county resource
conservation districts. Printed copies,
enlargements, or digital versions of the
maps are available to the public. Call
(916) 324-0859 or email
fmmp@consrv.ca.gov for more
information.

The latest statewide
study by the FMMP, Farmland Conversion
Report 1998-2000, was released last
June. More than 91,000 acres were
urbanized throughout the state  a
30-percent increase from the 1996-98
mapping cycle  and 27 percent of that
total came from irrigated farmland.

For more information
about the Tierra Miguel Foundation,
visit
www.tierramiguel.org or phone
760-742-4213.